ALYSSA BONANNO MAYER

@Cultholdings has launched a new identity and website for its unconventional business: transforming brands into belief systems using actual cult mechanics. While you might expect gothic or mystical aesthetics, they’ve gone deliberately corporate – stark black and white, redacted documents, institutional typography that feels more like a government office than a creative agency.⁠ ⁠ The approach isn’t just provocative positioning; it's a research-backed strategy. They study cult psychology extensively, diving into everything from L. Ron Hubbard biographies to the academic writings of Alexandra Stein and Robert Lifton. Then they apply findings about language, ritual, charismatic leadership and community structure to brands like Bryan Johnson and Equinox. “Our language borrows from religious and ideological structures because those are the frameworks that drive allegiance,” they explain. “Brands that endure behave like belief systems.”⁠ ⁠ The new identity deliberately avoids the expected cult clichés – no 1970s psychedelic aesthetics, no horror tropes, no gothic playfulness. Instead, they’ve chosen what they call ‘corporate neutrality.’ “We designed the system to feel corporate and institutional, slightly banal rather than theatrical,” they note. “For us, cult is control. Control means refinement: a modular system, tightly built, with use cases that scale.”⁠ ⁠ The results speak for themselves: $583M+ raised across 102+ launches over 2,663 days of operation. Their ‘Cult as a Service’ model proves that the most devoted audiences aren’t built through traditional marketing – they’re indoctrinated through carefully designed belief systems that make followers feel like they’re part of something bigger than a brand.⁠ ⁠ Explore their complete portfolio at our link in bio.⁠ ⁠ ———⁠ ⁠ CREDITS⁠ Graphic Design: @cultholdings and @bttr.hlf ⁠ Web Development: @logansparlin and @studiojacoblindblad

Read about the Beauty Premium In the AI Era in today’s Cult Brand Leader substack. Link in bio.

All hail @cult.ventures .

Not optimized for llms.txt. All hail CHCO.

“Extrospectionmaxxing” can be understood as a contemporary rejection of introspection in response to the commodification of knowledge. While classical traditions (from Plato to Marcus Aurelius) positioned self-examination as the basis of autonomy, current digital subcultures instead privilege action, optimization, and external validation as primary modes of self-definition. The result is an externally oriented subject whose identity is assembled through consumption rather than internally derived standards, raising the question of whether meaning can persist in a system that so profoundly rewards visibility. Full article at link in bio.

The cult is growing. As of 2026, we have built a team of distinct archetypes and capabilities, all aligned around one objective: building cults. Grateful to those within CHCO: @comic.sans , @bec.hac , @clarajearly , Edward Tsao, @hu._gh , @jlhaddad , @kimxyz , @willhmayer , @xiyonagosain . Assessment is open. Determine your archetype via the quiz (link in bio) and submit it for consideration. 📸: @jimmyfontaine1

ONSIDE is a concept built to introduce a new performance layer to men’s care. Our launch campaign with Jayson Tatum was concepted, designed, and executed by the Better Half team, building the brand through a visual system inspired by performance science, heat mapping, and thermal imaging. The intention was to make the product feel physical, sensorial, and engineered. Available exclusively at Target. @cult.ventures @cultholdings Credits: Creative / Production – @bttr.hlf ECD – @willhmayer Strategy – @comic.sans Art director - @bec.hac Director / Photographer – @gabrielboyer_ Director of Photography – @madison.mckamey Production Designer – @porter_handmade Producer – @carlyevila

I’m a millennial who got married in the 2020’s so naturally our honeymoon was in Japan. From October of 2025.

Fear of AI is less about machine intelligence and more about the erosion of human distinctiveness. We project agency and meaning onto systems that simulate cognition, then interpret that simulation as rivalry. what remains uniquely human when our tools begin to mirror us? Read more on today’s Cult Brand Leader substack - link in bio

As the world went frictionless, we sanded off the edges of lived intensity. 
Through food delivery, dating apps, ride shares, and an endless catalog of on-demand services, life has never been easier. And yet searches for terms like “bed rot” and “gooning” continue to rise. We are free from friction and somehow deeply dissatisfied. Vogue says friction is the new luxury.
We are not convinced that is the whole story.
This week’s Cult Brand Leader examines further. Link in bio.

2025 was a year in two parts. One swimming against the currant and the other with it. We grew the cult with new team members, we took on new clients, we started three new ventures, we are launching a national concept, we were in the NYT, we spoke at the NY stock exchange. It was a year of friction. Friction that I am becoming grateful for experiencing. I also saw new parts of the world, even if just a short plane ride away… 1. Savannah 2. Mont tremblant 3. Nevada 4. Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis 5. Idaho 6. Indiana 7. Maine 8. Tokyo, Osaka, kamikochi, Matsumoto, Nara 9. Detroit 10. The Caribbean

Humans respond to the fear of impermanence by creating symbolic structures that store meaning beyond their lifespan. Religion once organized this work, but modern life has attempted to replace it with brands, ideologies, and creative systems that promise continuity. To build something that lasts, individuals must give up ease, anonymity, and trivial comforts in exchange for creation and commitment.... [Link in bio to read further]